NFL Previews

The NFC North race has tightened up, and the Detroit Lions now face a difficult road test. The Lions (6-2), who lead the division by 1 1/2 games over the streaking Minnesota Vikings, head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers (4-4) on Sunday. Detroit will be the much fresher team, as it comes off a bye week, while the Chargers earned a road win over the New York Jets on Monday night. The Lions

Following a heartbreaking loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons hit the road looking to snap a two-game losing streak against an Arizona Cardinals team that may welcome back star quarterback Kyler Murray on Sunday. Atlanta (4-5) benched Desmond Ridder in favor of Tyler Heinicke prior to the game against Minnesota but lost for the third time in four games behind the late-game heroics of Joshua Dobbs, who was acquired five days earlier at

The football world will be watching this week to see what rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud can do for an encore as his Houston Texans visit the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Last week, the rookie quarterback out of Ohio State led the Texans (4-4) past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 39-37, authoring a game-winning, six-play, 75-yard drive that took all of 40 seconds, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Tank Dell. Stroud

The powerful San Francisco 49ers have gone a month without a victory. Meanwhile, the ever-improving Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t lost since Sept. 24. The Jaguars (6-2) put their impressive five-game winning streak on the line Sunday when they host the 49ers (5-3), a team that has lost three straight following a 5-0 start. Both teams are well-rested after a bye last week. Jacksonville has its sights set on winning a sixth straight regular-season game for the

To paraphrase the late George Allen, the future is now for the Tennessee Titans. By moving on from Ryan Tannehill and naming rookie Will Levis their starting quarterback, beginning with Sunday’s trip to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee (3-5) is acknowledging what became clear during its last two games. Levis gives the Titans their best chance to win while, at the same time, allowing them to start his developmental clock. There will be games when

The Pittsburgh Steelers intend to focus on scoring more points than their opponent — not necessarily gaining more yards — when they host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh (5-3) has been outgained, based on total yards, in every game this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Steelers are the 34th team in NFL history to be outgained in each of their first eight games, and they are the first team

Sunday’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and host Houston Texans is a tale of two teams with the same 3-4 record but vastly different postseason prospects. Despite losing three in a row, Tampa Bay resides in the NFC South, where front-running Atlanta is only a half-game ahead at 4-4 and has made a quarterback change. The Texans are 2 1/2 games behind streaking Jacksonville in the AFC South. The Buccaneers’ position might have influenced

The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t wait until the end of the season to cast blame. They did it in Week 9. Coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler were dismissed Tuesday night. Antonio Pierce will serve as interim coach when the Raiders host the New York Giants on Sunday. Las Vegas (3-5) lost 26-14 to the Detroit Lions on Monday and only gained 157 yards of total offense. The second consecutive poor performance —

Two of the top contenders in the AFC reunite for the first time since January when the Cincinnati Bengals (4-3) host the Buffalo Bills (5-3) on Sunday night. The game marks the return of Bills safety Damar Hamlin to Cincinnati. On Jan. 2, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field after making contact with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. The game, which Cincinnati led 7-3, was postponed before it was ultimately canceled.